SPECIAL NOTE FOR MY BRITISH EMPIRE READERS:

There was no malice towards Prince William intended in this Nightmare. He just happened to be the one I had this Nightmare about. I do believe he will one day make a fine king. So, do not be unsettled by my using him in this Nightmare. I would like to believe even he would smile should he be afforded the opportunity to read it -- Doctor I. B. Howler


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To date I have posted 16 of my twisted Nightmares on this site and you, my readers, have made them all at least "Recognized". So as you can see they are becoming rather popular.


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The night was pitch black. The fog surrounding Windsor Castle was thick and soupy. This was the location I did not want to be. However, here I was fighting the premonition that haunted every fiber of my being for at least the last hundred years.

It wasn't hard to recognize the danger lurking. Seven dead corpses in the last three days left no doubt a bat was on the loose. They were all creatures of the night that dared venture out after the warning decree had been sounded.

Me? I had no choice. It was my duty to roam the marshes and woods around the king's palace and protect it with my very life. And, so, I would do just that.

I had been the captain of the guard since I can not remember when. I had even protected the king when he was a mere newborn prince. I had seen him grow further and further away from the common people of our country, into the dictatorial tyrant he had become, while occupying the throne his lineage possessed.

Cruel, and without mercy, or even the smallest thread of decency about him, the king was quick to throw even his most loyal subjects into the depths of his tortuous dungeon, where mutilations were common place.

He delighted in having them stretched on the rack until their joints painfully popped out of place, and then, a little bit further. He even placed some of them in iron masks for the slightest offenses. Feared by all, the king hoarded whatever he wanted.

However, the last straw was when he started boiling women in oil simply for his amusement. It was then I knew what I had to do. And, so, I returned to my ancestrial home after a brief holiday, and resumed my proper place in his realm.

The gypsy I consulted before departing on my sojourn had told me not to go to Transylvania. Eerie things were happening there. But, I ignored her cautions and traveled anyway. Granted, the time I spent perusing with my close associate, the Wolf, had been a pleasant excursion. Still, many unspeakable evil events transpired there.

Now my beloved London was under a sinister siege. That made my blood run rampant and I knew the horrendous activities of the depraved king must be halted.

I possessed easy access to his lair, and all that lay within it. My movements around the grounds would not be challenged. My authority intact, I was well respected by all. But, I could sense the king was becoming suspicious of me.

Night after night I carried out my plan. Carefully following every detail so as to not get thrown off course. And, day after day, I observed King William Arthur Philip Louis, in all his shining glory, conduct his bloody reign. One that would soon be brought to a screeching halt.

The king was splendidly adorned in his royal blue robe he proudly wore. His bejeweled gold crown sat on top of his half-bald head. And, the features I always admired the most about him, his diamond blue eyes, sparkled. It was these features that portrayed the handsomeness of his youthful face.

King William could have been England's most popular, and famous, king of them all. But, instead, he had become a bad seed that needed eradicating. He did not realize how near his demise was. And, he would never expect me, of all people, to be the member of his court to bring him down.

But, I had watched too many of his innocent subjects suffer horribly at his hand. I had heard their shrieks and agonizing screeches. Some deserved their fate. Most did not. One by one I had loosed them from their terror. Now, their loyalty belonged to me.

And, I had visions of grandeur of my own. For too many years I had been at the beck and call of these highfalutin Windsors. But, that was soon to be changed. My secret revolution had been underway long before I sojourned to Transylvania.

Eliminating the king would seal my destiny. Why should I remain nothing but a pawn to be manipulated for his pleasure?

I originally devised my scheme when his father occupied the throne. I wanted nothing more than to force him to abdicate but only ended up in his prison for treason. There I faced the gallows. But, I received a last second reprieve because I managed to get a message through to him that a plot had been devised to murder his beloved queen.

The gallows, much to his dismay, would not have been my end. There is but one method to stop me and that involves a wooden stake. But, my true nature was not known. I had never revealed myself before my travels to Transylvania. And, since returning, I had an unsatisfiable appetite for blood. Seven victims were a mere beginning.

Now it was time to reveal myself to the king. Quiet as a church mouse I entered his chambers without delay. There he sat on his throne oblivious to the plight that would soon befall him. No one else was present.

Instantaneously, I transformed into a bat. The suddenly terrified expression on his face was priceless. His first response was to loudly call for his royal guards. They would be of no further service to him.

"Call all your little heart desires, William," I tauntingly hissed at him, then told him, "your loyal subjects are under my control now. They are presently being held at bay by several associates of mine."

"It was you who attacked those peasants," he replied, uttering the word as though it was way below his dignity to even speak it, and realizing the fate that awaited him as well.

"Yes, William. It was I who attacked them," I confessed without any remorse, "and, soon, all of England will be mine!"

He threw his scepter at me in fear. I caught it in mid-air and easily crushed it with one hand telling him, "William, you are powerless to stop me."

In desperation he asked, "Why do you turn against me?"

He moved backwards unsure of where he was in the chambers and too scared to care.

I moved towards him once more hissing loudly. But, did not answer his inquiry.

He quickly surveyed the room and realized he was trapped with no escape. I backed him into a corner, wrapped my outstretched arms and cape around him, and sank my fangs deep into his neck drinking in his life blood.

England was mine. The army of undead I had gathered on my holiday in Transylvania ensured I possessed it. They were ready, and at my command.